It's in the Numbers
by HallowRain8587
Summary: A series of one shots written for Arithmancy challenges. Characters and situations vary. Chapter 2. Unending Friendship is now posted. OoC/AU
1. Chapter 1 The Ultimate Secret

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the characters mentioned in this story as well as the locations.**

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**The Ultimate Secret**

For years he had planned and now it was approaching the "witching hour". He smirked when he thought of that muggle phrase. It started with deceit and ended with planning. Planning took more time and skill than most witches and wizards were willing to put forth. He, however, had all the time in the world to plan, to plot and to scheme. It began with the death of his beloved Lily, the woman he had given his heart to and been rejected by when he had spoken that stupid word. The promise he made to Dumbledore for the protection of her son had made him a spy. But that wasn't the secret. Everyone knew that part now thanks to the playing out of the plans of the ultimate puppeteer. He had free agency and had not only been a double agent, but had worked out an end game that would suit himself and nobody else. He started small and worked his way up to where he was now.

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In the beginning he had his teaching salary deposited into Gringotts Wizard Bank, but when he formulated his plan he needed a fall-back solution. The muggle world provided the secrecy and escape that he would need to succeed. He began researching in the field of microbiology and nanotechnology quietly on the side. He enrolled in the University of Edinburgh's College of Medicine &amp; Vet Medicine (MVM). This was done through a series of forgeries, curses and generally serendipity.

He had a muggle birth certificate because his father, being a muggle, has insisted that his mother Eileen Prince Snape give birth in a muggle hospital. The next step required taking the original birth certificate to the courts after it had been proven that his father had beaten his mother to death and requesting a name change. The courts finding sufficient reason changed his name in the muggle world to Sebastian Prince, no middle name or initial thank you. With this he was able to open bank accounts, obtain a British Passport and a driver's license. He was able to legally change the primary school records with his new birth certificate, but had to find a legitimate public school large enough that he would not stand out as anything other than another student. Once he had decided on St. Edward's School, Oxford he had to perform the confundo charm on a records clerk to add his name and award him sufficient A-levels to allow him easy entry into MVM. To cover his tracks he wrote letters to certain instructors that "reminded" them that they would recommend him when he was ready to apply to University. Once he was truly enrolled in University he was able to take classes with the aid of a time turner that he had "borrowed" from Professor McGonagall and he graduated with his advanced degree in before she had need of it in 1993 for Hermione Granger.

The school achievements in the muggle world were his biggest pleasure to date and his biggest secret, but they were but a step toward independence. He did research for the muggle world while he was creating the potions for the wizard one. He wrote academic articles and works on his muggle research as well as the wizarding. All money he earned from his muggle ventures went into muggle investments and banks. All earned in the wizard world went into Gringotts. Living in his parent's home in Spinner's End and Hogwarts allowed him to accumulate a decent fortune in the wizard world and amass a fortune in the muggle. When he built his house in the wilds of the Highlands he made it unplotable and from time to time would daydream of the day he would be allowed to inhabit it as a free man.

When Voldemort came back and used the snake, Nagini, against Arthur Weasley, he knew what he must do. He began preparing for his demise. He didn't know that this was the method that would be used to kill him, but it was certainly one of the Dark Lord's favorite methods of killing. Using the knowledge of the type of snake venom he would need to build "immunity" or at least a tolerance to in order to allow time for an anti-venom to work was the first priority. Second was to work on shielding charms that would work much like the body armor muggles wore for protection against bullets. Because spells and jinxes could be performed anywhere on the body, he would have to figure out how to embed the protection over the skin or make it repel or heal after attack.

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This was the day Severus Snape knew he was going to die. The knowledge of Potter's return to Hogwarts had been shared with him by the Headmasters in his office. This was the penultimate challenge to Voldemort. Voldemort needed to stop Potter from destroying the diadem lest he could be destroyed. Voldemort needed to kill Potter and the fact that the elder wand was not working meant one thing. The Dark Lord was aware of the legend of the elder wand and he knew that Snape had been the one to kill Dumbledore, the last KNOWN owner of the wand. Severus being even more knowledgeable about the wand knew that he was not the wizard to whom it answered. He and Harry Potter both were aware of the fact that Draco had been the owner of the wand due to unarming before Dumbledore's death.

Severus prepared to meet his demise. He took the shielding potion and put a vial of anti-venom in the pocket of his robes. As an extra precaution he strapped his wand tightly to the inside of his left boot with a blood seal so that he would be the only person that could remove it. He carried a second wand that he had found in a file drawer of confiscated contraband in Filch's office. He waited for the summons in his old quarters in the dungeons of Hogwarts that he had not relinquished when being named Headmaster. (Slughorn thought them too dreary, so that was easy.)

Lucius Malfoy rapped on the door and told him that their master wanted Severus to join him in the Shrieking Shack. Immediately he set off to meet his destiny while Malfoy Senior slunk back into the dark halls of the dungeons. When Severus arrived he was right. There was the snake and the Dark Lord. Voldemort disarmed Severus easily tossing the wand aside. Then he commanded Nagini to kill. Voldemort's departure from the shack was closely followed by the arrival of Potter, et al. The pain of the bite was excruciating, but he kept his head and told Potter to take the memories he had compartmentalized for sharing. When the trio left the shack, he slipped the vial from his pocket and drank the potion. At least he didn't have to cut himself to get past the blood ward to access the wand in his boot due to the blood on his arm from the snake bite. Severus Snape disappeared from the Shrieking Shack and the gossip had it that the Death Eaters had stolen his body and burned down the shack when they were made aware of his questionable allegiance to their master.

Two days later a tall black-haired man with a hooked nose dressed in motorcycle leathers and pushing a Honda motorcycle similar to the one that had won the 1997 British Motorcycle Grand Prix. He was not a handsome man, but he was striking and looked sexy and dangerous at the same time. He rode off into the sunset and Sebastian Prince took up his place in muggle society as a reclusive scientist.

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**Hogwarts School Arithmancy Assignment #2**

**Task: **I would like you to write about a secret. This could be a secret shared between friends, a child hiding a secret from their parents or even a secret room or place. Be as creative as you like.

**Optional Prompts: **Daydream, heart, handsome and gossip.

**Word Count: **600 min, 2000 max


	2. Chapter 2 Unending Friendship

**Disclaimer: J. owns the characters in this story.**

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**Unending Friendship**

Andromeda Black and Pricilla Bulstrode were best friends as well as some sort of cousins. Everyone was either a member of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black or a cousin if they were pureblood witches or wizards. I will take that back and say that those whose families who had been in Britain since the sixth century. Then the outsiders came in like the Malfoys and Shacklebolts and Umbridges, the later whose linage was spoiled by Orford marrying a muggle. Dolores, a Slytherin also, wanted to be like the others, but it wasn't to be for a half-blood. Dolores was a snoop and a troublemaker and a Slytherin through and through.

Andromeda and Pricilla were sitting by the Black Lake doing what sixteen year-old girls do. They were talking about boys. They were talking about who was hot and who was not. They were talking about what they wished the boys were doing with them and not doing with them. Most of all they just giggled and dreamed and wrote their names linked with the boys they would be marrying and the boys they wished they were marrying. Even in the 1960s when the rest of the world was into sex, drugs, rock-and-roll, and women's liberation these two pureblood Slytherins had been betrothed since their births to men of their station in life. Pricilla was envious that Andromeda had been betrothed to Lucius Malfoy who was "fine". Pricilla had not been so lucky as her contract preceded her birth by two generations and as the first female of the Bulstrode line was affianced to Reginald Parkinson. That these two had contracts didn't stop them from dreaming about finding a knight in shining armor who would swoop in and take them off to a life of happily afterward.

Dolores was snooping which was one of her major talents. Blackmailing was another talent and it was often the result of her snooping. This day she had just been handed a piece of gossip on a silver platter. Andromeda and Pricilla were arguing. Pricilla was angry. Andromeda was defensive.

"Andromeda Black you cannot just throw away a marriage contract with someone as powerful as Abraxus Malfoy. If you don't marry his son, he will have you killed."

"Pricilla, you don't understand. I don't love Lucius."

"What does that matter? You were raised to a certain status in life and a marriage to him is fortunate. Besides he has money with a capital M."

"Pricilla, I don't love him and I don't want to live with him. I don't care how much money he has, I am not for sale."

"Narcissa, if you don't marry him you will be as good as dead to us. We cannot abide your breaking your contract. You do realize what you have to do."

Suddenly they heard a twig break and went quiet. Hearing nothing more they picked up their books and headed in to the Slytherin Common Room.

Later at supper a howler came through the window and dropped in front of Andromeda. It burst open at her touch. "HOW COULD YOU BREAK YOUR ENGAGEMENT BY SLEEPING AROUND WITH SOMEONE! YOU ARE A SLUT AND NO LONGER A BLACK! WE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTING YOU AT HOME AT THE END OF TERM! WE ARE UTTERLY HUMILIATED!" said the message from her mother, Druella Rosier Black. The howler burst into flame and confetti and fell to a pile of ash on the table.

Turning to Pricilla, Andromeda hissed, "How could you do this to me? We were only day dreaming an hour ago."

Pricilla looked at her in utter shock, "What did I do?"

"You must have immediately owled her after I went to shower before supper." Andromeda burst into tears and left the Great Hall to silence. Everyone had heard and she was utterly humiliated. She couldn't return to the Common Room so she went to the library until time to retire for the night.

"Isn't that interesting?" asked Dolores. "Who will get that lovely betrothal contract now?"

"OH, SHUT UP!" nearly all of the Slytherins at the table yelled at her.

When Andromeda returned to her room there was a note on her pillow. "_Andromeda, I know you think I told, but I didn't. Remember the twig? I think that whoever was there did it. Pricilla."_

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"_June 15, 1972_

_Dear Pricilla,_

_Ted and I were married last week and have returned home. Marrying a half-blood wizard I do love is not the worst. I miss you and my family, but know we can never see each other again since I no longer exist in your world._

_Your once dearest friend, Andromeda Tonks_

_P.S. Isn't that funny. I am married and happy just like we talked about that day at the Black "_

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"_July 7, 1972 _

_Dear Andy,_

_Received your letter. Am planning wedding to Reginald. Will be wedding of the year. Not safe to send or receive owls from you. I will leave messages for you with Madam Malkin's assistant. Jeanine is trustworthy and descrete. Congratulations._

_Pris"_

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"_June 16, 1973 _

_Dear PMP, I am pleased to tell you that Ted and I are the proud parents of a beautiful pink haired daughter. Yes, she is an m__etamorphmagus. We named her Nymphadora breaking with Black family tradition. Yours ABT"_

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"_Jan.6, 1980, ABT, gave birth to daughter after four miscarriages. Named her Pansy. Reginald not happy, wanted boy. PMP_

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"_Jan. 16, 1980, PMP, must have been hard. Give her all the love she will not get from R. Congrats. ABT" _

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"_Aug. 23, 1980, ABT, watch out. DE gathering here targeting half-bloods. R happy. LM involved, NBM not happy. Something big this fall. PMP"_

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"_Nov. 3, 1980, PMP, all safe, Potters not. Baby missing. ABT"_

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"_Nov. 12, 1980, ABT, glad you are fine. PMP"_

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"_Aug. 23, 1984, ABT, saw you and daughter shopping for her wand. Miss shopping with you and wanted to talk. Jeanine is getting married so we will have to find another way to communicate. PMP"_

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"_Sept. 1, 1991, ABT, took Pansy to train. Harry Potter in same class as Pansy and Draco Malfoy. Interesting interactions. PMP"_

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May 2, 1998

Andromeda Tonks had been widowed just two months earlier and now her daughter and son-in-law were dead. She knelt on the floor of the Great Hall and hugged Teddy Lupin, her grandson to her breast and sobbed uncontrollably over the bodies. They had given so much. Her heart was breaking. She felt so alone. Suddenly an arm wrapped around her shoulders and a voice whispered in her ear, "Narcissa sent for me. She said you needed someone to help you right now because all of the others were also mourning. If you want to talk to her, she would like to see you."

"Oh, Pricilla, if I could just take their places so they could raise their baby."

"Hush, I am here and I am still your best friend."

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**Hogwarts School Arithmancy Assignment #3**

**Task: **Your task this week is to write a story about an argument between friends and the effects it has on their friendship (do they stay friends? Do they avoid each other etc)

**Word Count: **650 min. 2300 max.


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